Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Not Expected to Give Star $21M Deal, Likely Ending St. Louis Tenure

St. Louis will have to start making tough decisions very soon

Patrick McAvoy

Jul 4, 2020; St. Louis, Missouri, United States; A view of empty seats during workouts at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Jul 4, 2020; St. Louis, Missouri, United States; A view of empty seats during workouts at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images / Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
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The St. Louis Cardinals have a lot of work to do this offseason.

The front office is likely already well into planning mode. St. Louis didn't make the playoffs for the second straight season, and the Cardinals already have made some serious announcements. Chaim Bloom has been announced as the heir to John Mozeliak as the team's president of baseball operations.

St. Louis has a tricky offseason ahead of it that will include cutting payroll, possibly trading veterans, improving the farm system, and fielding a team for the 2025 season. The Cardinals will be busy and one of the team's first decisions will revolve around first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.

Will he be back in St. Louis in 2025? It doesn't seem likely at this point. Goldschmidt will be a free agent and likely will get more than the Cardinals want to offer. St. Louis realistically could offer him the qualifying offer worth just over $21 million, but MLB.com's John Denton doesn't think that is going to happen.

"Goldschmidt is the only candidate for a qualifying offer, and the Cardinals will likely shy away from offering him what would amount to $21.05 million for the 2025 season," Denton said. "Qualifying offers must be extended by 5 p.m. on the fifth day following the conclusion of the World Series, and players have until Nov. 19 to accept or reject."

If the Cardinals were to offer him that deal and he signed elsewhere, the Cardinals would get draft compensation. But, it would be surprising to see another team offer him a deal larger than that, so he maybe would accept the offer. St. Louis doesn't want to be on the hook for that much.

Goldschmidt has been amazing for St. Louis, but sadly his time with the team could be coming to an end.

More MLB: Cardinals, Braves Stunner Would Send $75 Million Star To Atlanta

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also is pursuing an MBA at Brandeis University. After quickly rising as one of the most productive writers on the site, he expanded his reach to write for Baseball Essential, a national baseball site in Sports Illustrated Media Group. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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